World Bulletin / News Desk

The Egyptian army says it destroyed 521 entry points into underground tunnels in the Sinai Peninsula located along the border with the blockaded Gaza Strip.

"Over the past six months, border guards managed to destroy 521 entry points into underground tunnels," army spokesman Mohamed Samir told state-run daily Al-Ahram in an interview published on Monday.

Some of the tunnels, the official said, extended over 2.8 kilometers from the border into Egypt. He added that some of the unearthed tunnels were even equipped with railroad tracks.

For the past two years, the Egyptian army has waged a major offensive against militant groups said to be based in the Sinai Peninsula, which shares borders with both Israel and the Gaza Strip.

The campaign is also aimed at destroying the network of tunnels linking Gaza to Sinai, which constitute a major commercial artery used to bring vital commodities – including food, fuel and building materials – into the besieged coastal enclave.

The region has seen a spate of attacks on security personnel by unidentified militants since mid-2013.